Prehistoric Masterpieces FROM The Cave of Lascaux At the Montréal Science Centre
Hall of Bulls, North Wall. One of the most recognizable images from Lascaux, the Hall of Bulls contains 36 images of bulls, horses and stag. One bull measures 17 feet long—the largest animal depicted in cave art. © LRMH
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HE Montréal Science Centre is presenting The Cave of Lascaux – Prehistoric Masterpieces, an exhibition that transports visitors back in time to the discovery of the Lascaux rock paintings and engravings, created by our Cro-Magnon ancestors. It features life-size replicas of works that have not been presented or reproduced since the closure of the original cave in 1963. Organized by the general Council of the Dordogne in France, the exhibition will be shown exclusively at the Montréal Science Centre until September 14 In September 1940, when four teenage boys stumbled upon the Lascaux cave in the south of France, they were met with an extraordinary spectacle. The cave walls were teeming with animal frescoes, painted and engraved with great sophistication by our earliest ancestors nearly 20,000 years ago. Little did the boys know that their discovery would rewrite our knowledge of prehistory. These exquisite Lascaux cave paintings, in a remarkable state of preservation, would soon be recognized as the world’s finest examples of prehistoric art. The cave attracted more than a million visitors between 1948 and 1963, when the French Minister of Culture, author André Malraux, had it closed to the public in order to preserve these masterpieces. Then Lascaux II opened, the first artificial cave containing replicas of some of the works in the original Lascaux cave. To present this rich repository of prehistoric art, the exhibition includes five fullscale replicas from two sections of the cave, “The Nave” and “The Well”, which have never before been reproduced or shown to the public. The contemplative lighting display of the works is respectful of the achievement of these Cro-Magnon artists. In the intimate cave setting, visitors will 8 • Fine Art Magazine
When the caves were discovered in 1940, the best way to record accurate drawings of the paintings was to simply use tracing paper. Surely a daunting task, the paper needed to be held up to the walls (yet not touch!) as someone traced the lines that man had made over 17,000 years earlier. © Alain Roussot
also encounter a “hyper-real” Cro-Magnon family created by world-renowned sculptor Elisabeth Daynès. The family – an old man, an adolescent, a woman and a child – wear clothing and ornaments made from materials available 200 centuries ago. These Cro-Magnons were very different from the typical popular depiction of “cavemen”. They were hunter-gatherers who lived in a structured society, and their culture was considerably more refined than most of us imagine. The Cave of Lascaux – Prehistoric Masterpieces also offers a virtual tour of the entire cave, created with laser mapping and 3D modeling technology. Multimedia presentations reveal the complexities of the works on the cave walls and clarify the skill it took to create them. For example, visitors
can decipher the great Black Cow panel and its engravings with the help of an animation that reveals the fresco’s underlying complexity, or discover how the Lascaux artists took advantage of the cave’s natural relief to create perspective and suggest movement. Despite 70 years of research and analysis, the precise meaning and function of the Lascaux cave paintings are still an enigma. But these complex artworks are not haphazard. They must have been created for a specific purpose that remains a mystery. This exhibition/recreation invites us to contemplate these early masterpieces in an atmosphere conducive to reflection on the origins of humanity. The Montréal Science Centre wishes to thank its presenting partner, TELUS. The exhibition was created by the Gener-